Carnival of Death
by sammygirl1963
Summary: Teenchesters: Dean and Sammy investigate suspicious deaths at a carnival while their dad is away. Will it cost Dean and Sam their lives? Major hurt Dean/ Angsty-hurt Sam/ Angsty John in later chapters. Dean is seventeen and Sammy is thirteen.
1. Chapter 1

**Carnival of Death**

**Author's Note: **Teenchesters**--**Dean is seventeen and Sammy is thirteen. This story is for Juliana who requested a hurt Dean story. I hope it meets up to your expectations.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Winchesters or anything related to the Supernatural television series, nor am I making a profit from this story.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

"Hey Dean" When's dad coming back?" thirteen year old Sam inquired as he flipped through the five channels on the decrepit black and white television in the latest motel room they were staying at in nowheresville Wisconsin.

"How many times do I have to tell you Sammy, I have no idea how long dad will be gone. You know Caleb is hunting a pack of demon dogs and asked for dad's help. Dad said he could be gone for a few weeks."

"Yeah, I know Dean. I'm just bored. We've been stuck in this crappy motel now for five days and I'm bored" whined Sam desperate to have some fun.

"I know you are Sammy, I am too" Dean wistfully admitted. "But you know how mad dad will be if we leave this motel room. The last thing I need is dad busting my ass for taking you out of this room when we were told to stay put."

"I guess you're right, and I don't want you to get in trouble either Dean" said Sam with a pout on his face as he went back to flipping the channels, not finding anything to watch. Sammy turned the TV off and thought _"my life sucks" _as he flopped over onto his stomach. Since there wasn't anything better to do, he decided to take a nap.

Dean felt bad for his baby brother as he watched him curl up on the bed. He knew that it wasn't fair to make Sammy stay in the motel room while other boys his age were going to game rooms or playing soccer. Sammy deserved to have some fun too.

He walked over and sat beside Sammy on the bed running his fingers through Sammy's curly brown hair until he fell asleep. "I'm so sorry little brother" he whispered. "I wish you could have a normal life and do what other kids do, but it will never be in the cards for us Winchesters." Dean pulled the blanket off of his own bed and covered Sammy with it to make sure the kid didn't get cold.

Dean then sat down at the table to dismantle and clean some of the weapons that his father had left behind to be serviced. They had to make sure their weapons were always in perfect working order or somebody could be hurt, and Dean couldn't take the chance that that person could be Sammy.

As he cleaned the barrel of one of the guns, he thought about how he could make things more fun for Sammy since they were cooped up in the ramshackle motel room. They didn't have any board games since their dad thought they would be a frivolous waste of money which they didn't have. Sammy had already read every book he owned at least three times each and he was too young to look at Dean's skin magazines that he kept hidden from their dad. Sammy was already a card shark since Dean had taught him how to play two years ago, so there really wasn't anything left to brighten up the kid's day Dean thought dejectedly.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

As dinner time approached, Dean put away the reassembled weapons and cleaned the table. He really needed to start cooking the grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup that he had planned for dinner. He knew Sammy would be hungry when he woke up since they had both skipped lunch, trying to conserve what little food they had left. If dad didn't return soon, they were going to have to go grocery shopping whether their dad liked it or not. There was no way Dean was going to let Sammy go hungry when he could scam some money from a pool game and buy them some food.

Dean quietly hummed _Back in Black _to himself as he went about preparing the meal. He made sure to cook the tomato soup just the way Sammy liked it, no salt and a little heavy on the pepper. If Sam couldn't go out and have some fun, at least he could eat a meal prepared the way he liked it instead of the patented John Winchester way which was, eat it my way or starve.

When the meal was finished cooking, Dean walked over to Sammy's bed and shook him gently on the shoulder. "Time to wake up there sleeping beauty. Dinner's ready."

Sam yawned and opened his eyes. "I hope it's not macaroni and cheese again" he said as he stretched his arms up high. Sammy had hit a recent growth spurt and was nearly as tall as Dean now. If the kid didn't stop growing soon, he was going to surpass Dean in height and that just wouldn't be right according to the older brother. Baby brothers were supposed to be smaller, it only made common sense for that to be so.

"You're in luck princess, I made grilled cheese sandwiches, and before you ask, I cooked the tomato soup just the way you like it" Dean said with a smirk knowing what Sammy would ask.

"Thanks Dean, you're the best" grinned Sammy as he walked towards the table.

"Whoa, not so fast there little brother. You need to go to the bathroom and wash your hands before dinner" Dean said shaking his head.

"Aw Dean" Sammy complained as he walked towards the bathroom to follow his brother's request. As Sammy washed his hands, Dean poured them each a glass of milk since that was the only thing they had left to drink in the little motel refrigerator.

As they sat down to eat, Dean turned on the small television set so they could watch the local news. The sky outside had looked ominous earlier and he wanted to know what kind of weather to expect tonight. Sammy didn't like admitting it, but he was scared to death of thunderstorms and Dean wanted to know if he was going to be in for a long night.

As he was waiting for the weather report, a breaking news report came flashing across the television screen.

_We have breaking news to report. Another suspicious death has been reported at the Teague Carnival. It has been reported that a twenty two year old man was killed tonight as he walked through the carnival's haunted house. The man reportedly sustained a broken neck and several broken ribs. He also had severe bruising across most of his torso. The police suspect he might have been attacked by a gang of hoodlums that was seen hanging around the carnival earlier. This is the third death that has been connected to Teague's Carnival in the past six months. The police have shut the carnival down for the night as they search the scene for evidence. More news later as reports come in._

Dean's interest was immediately captured by the fact that the killings had taken place in the haunted house and that three deaths had occurred within the last six months.

"_That sounds pretty suspicious to me" _thought Dean as he munched on his sandwich.

"Hey Sammy, what do you say we go check out that carnival when it opens back up?" Dean said through a mouthful of sandwich.

"But dad said we have to stay in this room Dean, and you said you didn't want him to bust your ass for leaving it" Sam replied.

Dean reached across the table and popped Sammy on the side of his head gently with his hand.

"Hey, what was that for jerk?" Sammy complained aloud

"You aren't supposed to curse bitch" Dean replied as he saw Sammy rubbing the side of his head.

"But you do it all the time Dean, why can't I? Dad isn't hear to hear me."

"Yeah, well I'm older than you Sammy and that's a good enough reason. Finish your dinner" Dean said as he slurped down a spoonful of the tomato soup.

Dean then went on to say, "I think dad would want us to check out this carnival Sammy to see if these killings are related to a demon or an angry spirit. He wouldn't want us to let other people get killed just because he was out of town."

Sammy shrugged his shoulders and said "If you say so Dean, but it wont be me that gets spanked for not following dad's orders."

"I'm too old for a spanking kiddo. If anything, I'll just get grounded for not listening. You on the other hand…" Dean allowed his sentence to drift off so Sammy's mind could conjure up all the different things that their dad might do to him.

"I'll tell dad is was your idea Dean" Sammy answered in retaliation with a smirk on his face. Dean just shook his head at what his brother thought was the perfect comeback.

Dean focused his attention on the television once again as he heard the weather forecast coming on.

_We have a stormy outlook for tonight folks as a cold front moves in and brings severe thunderstorms to the area. Look for vicious cloud to ground lightning with fifty mile per hour winds and a possibility of hail. If severe weather occurs in your area, we encourage you to stay indoors or seek shelter immediately if you are outside when the storm hits. Tomorrow's weather calls for…_

Dean groaned as he heard the forecast for the night. _"Looks like I'll be in for a long night"_ he thought knowing that Sammy was sure to have trouble sleeping. He had hated thunderstorms since he was a toddler and hadn't grown out of that fear yet.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

After finishing dinner, Dean and Sammy watched a Baywatch marathon for a few hours before Dean announced that it was time for bed.

"Aw Dean" Sammy whined once again. It's only eleven o'clock. Can't I stay up for a few more hours since dad isn't here?"

"No Sammy, you know as well as I do that you'll be grumpy all day tomorrow if you don't get enough sleep. Now go take a quick shower and get in the bed pronto."

Dean salted the windows and door once again while Sammy took his shower. He made sure that Sam brushed his teeth before his kid brother climbed into the bed. Dean then got a tee shirt and clean boxers and took a quick shower himself. After finishing. he surveyed the room once again to make sure it was secure and put his knife in its usual spot under the pillow. He looked over to see that Sammy was already sleeping and then finally climbed into bed himself.

Dean was dreaming of beautiful girls frolicking on the beach in the tiniest of swimsuits when he was awakened by the sound of a whimper coming from his brother's bed. Just as he opened his eyes, he heard the sharp clash of thunder that rumbled just outside their motel room. A lightning bolt lit up the sky and Dean looked over to see Sammy curled up into a ball and visibly shaking with tears streaming down his face. He lifted up his blanket in silent invitation to his little brother as another round of thunder hit.

Sammy gasped at the sharp crack of thunder that rumbled the motel room as he saw Dean lift us his blanket. He quickly got out of his bed and jumped into Dean's bed curling as far into his brother's body as he could get.

Dean curled his arm around Sammy and pulled him closer when he felt the trembles that were still wracking his little brother's body. "It's alright Sammy" he said as he tucked Sammy's head underneath his chin. "Nothing's going to hurt you as long as I'm here, try to get some sleep" he said as he rubbed his hand up and down his brother's back.

After approximately a half hour, Dean could feel Sammy relax into sleep as the thunder sounds roared in the distance. Knowing that his little brother was safe and okay, Dean quickly fell asleep himself.

**TBC Just what is haunting the carnival and will Dean disobey his dad's order and take Sammy to the carnival?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Carnival of Death Ch. 2**

**Author's Note:** This is another lead up chapter to the hunt. I'm not totally sure about it, but I hope you enjoy it anyway

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSSN**

Dean woke up early the next morning to a still slumbering Sammy. He couldn't blame Sammy for still sleeping. There was no telling how long he lay awake last night too scared to move as the storm raged outside waiting for it to stop. Dean was glad that he had woken up to the sounds of Sammy whimpering so he could provide that safety net that Sammy needed to go back to sleep.

Dean let his little brother sleep while he walked took a hot shower to wake himself up and changed in to some clean clothing. He looked in the small cupboard in the room to see that there wasn't any cereal left for breakfast, and besides that, they had finished the milk off last night with dinner.

"Looks like we're going out for breakfast" he mumbled as he walked over to prod Sammy awake.

"Time to get up princess. We've got to go out for breakfast this morning" he said as he watched Sammy struggling to wake up but failing.

M' too tired Dean, leave me alone" Sammy mumbled as he rolled over onto his stomach to go back to sleep.

"No way Sammy" Dean said as he flung the blankets off his brother. "Up and at it. Get yourself dressed. I'm hungry."

As Sammy grumbled unintelligibly and got dressed, Dean took some money out of the emergency stash that his dad had left. He noticed that funds were getting short and he would have to scam some money by playing pool at the local bar_. "It's a good thing dad got me that fake ID"_ he thought as he put the last fifty dollars they had into his pocket.

After Sammy was ready, Dean drove them to the local Denny's restaurant and order them both a big breakfast. As they were eating, Dean looked at Sammy and said, "When we're finished eating Sammy, we're going to swing by that carnival where the man was killed. I want to do some groundwork and see if I can figure out who or what is causing the deaths."

Sammy's eyes grew huge. "No way Dean, it's too dangerous, besides dad would kill us if he found out."

"Well he's not going to find out unless you tattle to him, so we're going. Then later tonight after the carnival closes, we'll go back and take care of whatever is causing the deaths. Don't worry Sammy, it will be an easy hunt!

"Yeah right, when is anything every easy for us" Sammy said as he rolled his eyes. Sammy knew there was no use in arguing with Dean about the hunt. When Dean made his mind up about something, there usually was no changing it. The brothers finished their breakfast discussing the excitement of the upcoming hunt.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Dean pulled into a parking spot at the carnival away from the other cars. He didn't want to chance getting any scratches on the Impala. Dad had given it to him for his last birthday and Dean took the utmost care with her ever since.

The brothers climbed out of the car and walked towards the entrance. Dean used some of their money to pay for him and Sammy to get in. As they walked, they looked at the different game booths where people were trying to entice them to play. Dean politely declined as they kept walking. He wanted to get to the haunted house as soon as possible.

Finally finding it, they walked in and was immediately assaulted by fake ghosts popping out from behind hidden crevices. Dean laughed at the thought that some people actually were scared by such silliness. Hell, even Sammy was laughing at the absurdity of it and the kid was only thirteen.

As they walked along, Dean poked fun at the various things happening that were meant to scare them, while at the same time keeping a watchful eye out for any possible sulfuric traces that would indicate a supernatural occurrence to the deaths.

Not finding anything in the haunted house, Dean and Sammy walked through the rest of the carnival keeping a trained hunter's eye out for anything seeming out of place or that didn't belong. At one point, Dean was startled as Sammy gasped aloud and grabbed his arm in fear.

Dean immediately went into protective mode pushing Sammy behind him as he looked in the direction where Sammy had been staring. His eyes caught a clown just disappearing behind one of the food stands. Dean instantly relaxed his posture knowing how Sammy felt about clowns.

"It's okay Sammy, let's get out of here. We'll come back later tonight after the place closes to do a more thorough search." Dean didn't want to expose Sammy to any more clowns than was necessary.

The brother's exited the carnival and climbed into the Impala to head back to town.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

When they arrived back into town, Dean stopped at the local bar/pool hall. He had to earn some cash so that he could buy some more food to last them until their dad got home.

"What are we stopping here for Dean?" Sammy asked wondering why they hadn't just gone back to the motel.

"We're running low on money Sammy, and there's no food left in the room. I'm going to scam some money shooting pool. Don't worry, I'll just play until I have enough to get us by until dad comes home.

As Dean got out of the car, he turned around and looked at Sammy. "I want you to keep the doors locked and lay under the blanket in the back seat until I come back out. I don't expect any trouble, but I don't like leaving you out here by yourself either.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, just hurry okay" Sammy stated as he climbed into the back seat to follow his brother's orders. Dean made sure that Sammy was completely covered and that the doors were locked before walking into the pool hall.

He immediately walked over to watch two men who were playing pool. He whistled at some of the shots that the men had made. He was impressed that this backwards town actually had some decent players. Dean watched as money swapped hands after the local pool shark had won. The winner then turned to face Dean.

"Hey kid, you wanna play?" he asked sensing an easy mark. He figured it wouldn't take long to relinquish the kid of his money.

"I've only got twenty five dollars" Dean replied as he smiled sheepishly at the man.

"That's okay, I'll even let you break" the pool shark replied as he racked up the balls. They played a tense game, but Dean ended the game with what he called a lucky shot. He picked up his money and said 'Thanks for the game dude" as he prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute kid" the defeated player called out. "What do you say, double or nothing?"

Well, I'm not sure" Dean stated with hesitation to sound inexperienced.

"Come on kid, at least give me a chance to win my money back. If I lose again, no harm, no foul. You're free to go."

"Okay, sounds good" Dean said as the pool shark racked the balls. They once again played a tense game with both players making some pretty awesome shots, but it was Dean once again who sank the eight ball.

"The pool shark shook his head in wonderment. "I'll say one thing for you kid, you're good. You'll be able to scam with the best of them some day" he said as he handed over another fifty bucks.

Dean left the pool hall seventy five dollars richer and more confident of being able to feed Sammy until their father got home. As he approached the Impala he called out to his little brother. "I'm back Sammy, you can get up now" he said as he watched Sammy sit up with a grin on his face.

As Dean climbed in the car, Sammy asked, "So how much did you win?"

"Seventy five dollars" replied Dean smiling brightly. "Now we can go buy enough food to last us until dad get's home.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

As they returned to the motel room, Dean and Sammy carried in the groceries that Dean had bought, making sure to get the most for his money. Dean then cooked a meal of spaghetti as Sammy watched TV. He was making an early meal so they could get a nap before leaving on the hunt tonight.

Dean finished cooking the spaghetti and then both boys sat down to eat, each putting a large helping onto their plates. As they ate, they talked about the things they would need to take with them on the hunt tonight.

"Since we don't know exactly what we're dealing with, we need to take an array of weapons" said Dean as he thought about what they would need. "We'll definitely pack some salt rounds and holy water. Those things always come in handy for help with dissipating spirits until we can salt and burn the bones."

I also think we should take some knives with us just in case, I'll carry the silver one in my boot and you can keep the brass one in the back of your jeans for backup" Dean said to Sammy as he talked through a mouthful of food.

After the boys finished their meal, Dean cleaned up and packed their gear for the hunt. While doing so, he encouraged Sammy to lay down on his bed to take a nap. He wanted both of them to be sharp tonight for the hunt. Before laying down himself, Dean set the alarm on his watch to wake him up at ten o'clock. The carnival would be closing then and he and Sammy would have a better chance of establishing whether or not the deaths were committed by people or something worse.

**TBC. The action begins in the next chapter as Dean and Sammy start the hunt. If you read carefully, a few clues were left to help you guess what it is that the boys will be hunting.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Carnival of Death Ch. 3**

**Disclaimer: **Everything Supernatural belongs to the CW and Kripke. I am not making a profit from this story.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Dean pulled the Impala up to the nearly deserted carnival just after midnight. He had the headlights turned off as he parked a fair distance away hoping not to announce their arrival. He wanted to be as discrete as possible when he and Sammy snuck into the closed attraction to check out the haunted house.

As the boys climbed out of the sleek black car, they scanned their surroundings immediately searching for any signs of danger. Upon seeing that everything was clear, Dean and Sammy walked to the back of the Impala to unload the gear they would need for their hunt with each placing a gun and a knife in the waistband of their jeans.

Upon arriving at the gate, they found it to be padlocked to keep out any trespassers after closing. Sammy took out his lock picking kit and had the padlock opened in mere seconds.

"That's my boy" whispered Dean as he patted Sammy on the back. "You're getting better than even me or dad with your lock picking skills little brother."

Sammy beamed at getting such praise from his brother. It felt really good to hear that he could at least do something right. Lately, his dad had started getting onto him about not being into the hunt. And if he were honest, he would rather be elsewhere right now, but there was no way he was leaving Dean without backup tonight. He would just suck it up and get the job done so they could return to their motel room and wait for their dad to come back.

Sammy followed Dean as he made his way silently through the game stands checking for any security guards that were patrolling the area. As they walked, they constantly scanned for anything that seemed out of place. It gave Sammy an eerie feeling just walking through the deserted area. He couldn't explain it, but he felt like something was watching him and it caused the hairs on the back of his neck to rise in alarm.

Sammy kept quiet about his uneasiness not wanting Dean to think he was being a big baby, especially since he had been frightened earlier in the day at the sight of a clown. He shrugged as he figured that just maybe he was uneasy because of the emptiness of the place.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Hidden deep within the shadows, a figure lurked with glowing eyes and a leering smile. It watched the teens as they slinked through the empty carnival and followed their every step. It smiled with glee at the thought of having such tasty morsels to feed it's hunger before the carnival moved on to another unsuspecting town.

As the figure tracked the teens, it sensed that the younger one somehow was sensing it's presence. "Ah, you are smart and perceptive young hunter" it thought as it pulled back deeper into the shadows not wanting to give itself away before it could make it's move. It watched the uneasiness on the young boy's face and wondered if he would alert the older to its presence.

It was immediately pleased as it saw the youngster shrug off his uneasy feeling and continue on his way following in the older one's footsteps. In just a few minutes time, it would make it's move and enjoy sucking the life out of the two young hunters.

As the hunters neared it's feeding place, it rushed unseen into the haunted house to bide it's time until the young ones walked in. It quivered with the excitement of knowing it would soon attack it's most tasty meal yet. The rush it got from knowing that it's prey was walking into it's trap was euphoric.

Sensing that it's prey was at the door, it salivated as it slunk into it's hiding area. It prepared itself by dressing in the costume and applying the skin makeup that would instill terror into the unsuspecting teens.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

As the brother's approached the haunted house, Dean stilled his movements as he watched Sammy do the same. He listened intently for any sound that might have been going on within the building. Hearing nothing, he quietly opened the door and glanced inside. He pulled his flashlight from his jacket pocket as he and Sam entered the haunted house allowing the door to close behind them.

"Stay close behind me Sammy" Dean warned as he pulled out his EMF meter from his jeans to scan the area and it immediately began to beep with it's red lights glowing and the needle bobbing back and forth as if in agitation.

"There's definitely something here little brother, stay alert" Dean stated as he moved further into the haunted house. Dean moved as silently as a church mouse with Sammy right on his heels. As they progressed deeper, the boys were startled by the sudden appearance of a skeleton in front of their faces. Dean stabbed at it with his knife in reaction to the perceived threat as he heard Sammy gasp behind him.

"It's okay Sammy, just a stupid pretend skeleton" Dean said as he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart. He didn't want Sammy to see how much the skeleton had actually scared him. He once again took point as he led Sammy into the section that contained the walls of mirrors making it seemingly harder to find their way through the maze.

As they made their way through the maze of mirrors, Dean became extra vigilante as his EMF meter began to spike even more. He tried to keep a focus on Sammy while at the same time watching the mirrors for the slightest hint of a shadow or movement that wasn't made by him or Sammy. As he looked at Sammy, he could see the nervousness in his little brother's eyes and wondered if maybe they should have waited for their father to get back before doing this hunt on their own.

Sammy became more agitated as they made their way into the maze of mirrors. It seemed like he was being watched from all angles and not just by his brother Dean. He felt as though he was being leered at and it made him feel queasy. Just as he was abut to say something to his big brother, Sammy gasped and froze in utter terror.

Dean immediately saw the look of sheer terror on Sammy's face in the mirror and looked towards where his brother's eyes were focused.

"Holy shit it's a Rakshasa!" He exclaimed at seeing one of the ugliest clowns he had ever seen in his life. But that wasn't the focus of his main attention, as his eyes were drawn to the sparkling knives that were splayed within the rakshasa's hands. Dean watched as an evil look besieged it's eyes and it prepared to launch the knives.

"Drop Sammy" Dean yelled to draw his brother's attention, but Sammy was too frozen in fear to move. Dean launched himself at his baby brother just as the knives flew from the rakshasa's hands. He felt a stinging pain as one of the knives imbedded itself deep within his shoulder as he and Sammy fell to the floor. Dean wrapped his hands around Sammy's torso and rolled them out of the rakshasa's sight.

"Oh G-God, you're h-hurt Dean" Sammy stammered out seeing the knife sticking in his brother's shoulder. "I-It's all my f-fault. I was so scared I couldn't move." Huge tears began their trails down Sammy's face as he blamed himself for his brother getting hurt.

S'not your fault Sammy, I sh-shouldn't have brought us here w-without dad. Now come on, we've got to go" said Dean trying to absolve his brother of the guilt that he was feeling while at the same time pulling the knife blade out of his shoulder.

Dean hissed in pain as he pushed himself to his feet and grabbed Sammy by the arms and pulled him up to a standing position. "Come on Sammy, we've got to get the hell out of here " he gasped through the pain that he was feeling. He and Sammy moved off towards the entrance to the haunted house but was stopped by the maniacal laughter that they heard blocking their path.

""Going somewhere?" laughed the rakshasa in a whimsical voice. "Playtime isn't over yet" it nearly sang out as it thrust out it's hands with an explosion of air that sent both Dean and Sammy flying forcibly into the mirrors.

The sound of breaking mirrors reverberated throughout the haunted house as the mirrors shattered on impact. Sammy groaned as he felt slivers slicing into his back and his head smacking against the wall. He saw an explosion of stars before his eyes and fought to hold onto consciousness.

Dean wasn't doing much better as he felt himself imploding a mirror before falling to the floor. When he landed, he felt a fragment of the mirror sink into his right side, the pain bad enough to take his breath away. "Son of a bitch" he exclaimed as he felt blood flowing quickly down his side and into the hem of his jeans.

Before Dean had a chance to draw his gun, the rakshasa was on him in an instant, the smell of fresh blood drawing him in. It immediately sunk it's teeth into Dean's side and began sucking his tasty blood down it's hungry, blood deprived throat.

Dean screamed in pain as he felt the rakshasa sink it's teeth into his body. He was already woozy from the blood loss that he had sustained from the cut to his side. He felt darkness closing in on him as he valiantly tried to reach his knife or his gun in his weakened state. He fought the impending darkness knowing that the creature would kill him and Sammy if he let the darkness claim him.

Sammy was still fighting to retain consciousness when he heard the mortifying scream coming from his brother's mouth. He struggled to focus on Dean and was immediately repulsed by what he saw. The evil clown had it's teeth sunk deep into Dean's side and could only be sucking out his big brother's blood according to how pale his brother was becoming.

Sammy struggled to his feet and pulled his brass knife from the back of his jeans. He lunged at the clown sinking his knife deep within it's back as the clown howled in agony and swung around striking Sammy viciously across the face with it's glove clad hand.

Sammy yelped in pain as he once again saw stars from the force of the blow to his already injured head. He moaned in pain as he fought the impending darkness trying to consume him. He had to help Dean.

Hearing Sammy's yelp of pain, Dean launched himself forward and forced the knife further into the rakshasa's back as he pulled downward garnering another howl of pain from the evil creature before pulling the knife from it's ravaged back. The evil clown writhed on the floor in agony as Dean raised himself up and plunged the brass knife deep into it's heart.

The last thing Dean remembered seeing before unconsciousness claimed him was the evil creature dissipating from view in a swirling black cloud of smoke.

**TBC Dean's bleeding profusely and Sammy is nearly unconscious. How will the boys survive their encounter with the Rakshasa.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Carnival of Death Ch. 4**

As Sammy fought to regain control of his senses, he slowly made his way over to Dean. The first thing he saw was that his brother's side was covered in blood and a small pool of blood was starting to form on the floor. He found where the blood was coming from and immediately pulled off his outer shirt and used it to apply pressure to the wound in Dean's side. He had to get the bleeding stopped or Dean could bleed out. As he applied more pressure, he heard his brother moan in pain. Sammy quickly tore some strips off of the shirt and wrapped them around Dean's waist to keep pressure on the wound that had finally slowed to a trickle.

"Dean, c-can you hear m-me? You've g-got to w-wake up Dean. P-Please wake up" Sammy stammered needing his big brother to open his eyes.

Dean was in a state of confusion. He needed to find Sammy. He thought he could hear the sound of his little brother crying for him to wake up, but he was just so damned tired. Why was he so tired? He could feel something wet falling on his face. _"Did I fall asleep outside in the rain?" _He thought as his muddled mind tried to figure out what was happening.

"Please wake up Dean, Please don't leave me by myself, I'm scared" cried Sammy in a state of panic as he desperately tried to rouse his unconscious brother.

Dean could hear the urgency in his brother's words and knew that he needed to get back to Sammy. As he fought his way back to consciousness, Dean became aware of the intense pain that his body was in. He slowly opened his eyes to see his little brother hovering over him with tears streaming down his face. He tried to raise his hand up to brush away the tears from Sammy's face but found he couldn't move his arm.

"Son of a bitch, that hurts" he gritted through clenched teeth when pain spiked through his body from attempting to move his arm,

"What the hell happened?" Dean asked as his foggy mind tried to piece together what had happened to him.

"We were attacked by the rakshasa and you've been hurt pretty bad" Sammy replied with a shaky voice.

As things came became more clear to Dean, he realized where they were and knew they had to get the hell away from the carnival before security found them.

"Damn, we've got to get out of here now before somebody finds us" Dean said as he sat up with an enormous amount of effort. He knew he wouldn't be able to stand on his own so he said "help me up Sammy" as he reached out for his little brother.

It took three tries, but Sammy finally got Dean standing. Dean threw one arm over Sammy's shoulder while Sammy wrapped one arm around his waist to support him. They slowly walked out of the haunted house with each step causing pain to shoot through Dean's side. Before they had even made it half way to the car, Dean was panting with ragged breaths and was sweating profusely. At one point, his knees buckled and they fell to the ground.

As Sammy struggled to pull him up once again, Dean was hit with a sudden wave of nausea and his face turned deathly pale.

"S-Sick" he gasped as he bent over to expel the contents of his stomach. He used his uninjured arm to support his upper body as he heaved continuously. The strain was becoming too much and he felt his arm beginning to buckle. He started falling forward towards the nasty puddle he had just expelled.

Sammy rubbed his brother's back trying to offer comfort while Dean was throwing up. He watched as his brother's arm began to tremble and knew he was becoming too weak. Just as Dean's body started pitching forward, Sammy wrapped his arms around Dean's chest and pulled back keeping Dean from landing in his own vomit.

After the heaving finally subsided, Sammy helped Dean to stand once more. This time he was basically dragging Dean to the car while Dean fought to hold onto consciousness as he saw stars exploding in front of his eyes.

After what seemed like hours, the brothers finally made it to the car where Sammy leaned Dean up against the side of the Impala while he unlocked the doors. As Sammy went to help Dean into the drivers side, he was stopped when Dean suddenly halted and said "N-No, I can't do it S-Sammy, I don't have the s-strength to drive back to the m-motel and I can barely s-see. You're g-gonna have to do it."

"I can't Dean, I've only driven a couple of times and that wasn't on the road. Please don't make me do it" uttered Sammy, scared to death at the prospect of having to drive.

"You've got t-to, I c-can't st-stay awake l-long enough to…" Dean's eyes rolled up in his head as he lost the strength to stay conscious. Before he could slip to the ground, Sammy caught him and lowered him into the backseat of the Impala.

"Crap, what do I do now?" Sammy wondered aloud as he chewed on his bottom lip. He really didn't want to drive, but then they couldn't stay near the carnival either. He reached into the backseat and pulled the car keys out of Dean's pocket. After making sure that Dean was settled on the seat, he climbed into the driver's seat.

His hands were starting to shake a little as he turned the key and the ignition fired. _"Here goes nothing" _he thought as he put his foot on the brake and then eased the gear into the drive position and turned on the headlights. Sam took his foot of the brake and pushed on the gas. The car shot forward with a jolt and Sammy eased up on the gas pedal. He could do this.

Sammy was glad it was well after midnight and there wasn't hardly any traffic on the roads. He didn't think he could stand too many cars passing by as he clenched the steering wheel in a death grip. He was so nervous that he was sure his teeth would break as they kept gnashing against each other from the way he was shaking.

As he saw a car approaching on the other side of the road, he became even more nervous. He felt himself drifting off the side of the road and eased the car back on. He held his breath as the car drove by praying that whoever it was didn't see him driving. He glanced in the rearview mirror to see the car rounding a bend and disappearing from view. He sighed in relief as he continued on his way.

He drove for a solid thirty minutes before he saw their motel coming into sight. "Thank God" he whispered happy to have safely made it back to the motel. Now all he had to do was park the car and get Dean inside their room. Sammy eased the Impala up as close to their room as he could get it. He wasn't sure if he would be able to rouse Dean or not, and he knew he couldn't let anybody see him dragging his brother into the room in the shape he was in.

As soon as he parked the car, Sammy went over to their room and unlocked the door. He then returned to get Dean. As he opened the door, he gently shook his brother trying to wake him up.

"You've got to help me out here Dean. We've got to get you in our motel room and I don't think I can do it by myself" he said as he lightly smacked his brother on the cheek.

When he got no response, He rubbed his knuckles on Dean's sternum applying a little force and was rewarded with a groan.

"Dean, come on, you've got to wake up and help me here. We gotta go into the room" pleaded Sammy trying to capture his brother's attention.

"Mmhmm, in…min…ammy" Dean replied unintelligibly as his head lolled off to the side.

"No Dean, come on, you can do it" Sammy coaxed as he tried to pull his brother up into a sitting position.

Feeling his brother pulling on his shirt, Dean opened his eyes and blinked several times as he tried to focus.

"Sammy?" he questioned not sure if he was seeing who he thought he was seeing.

"Yeah, big brother, it's me. I need you to help me here Dean. We've got to get in the motel room or dad's going to be pissed."

Dean definitely didn't want to incur his dad's wrath so he put an arm over Sammy's shoulder and allowed Sammy to tug him to his feet. Dean shuffled his feet across the pavement as Sammy pulled him along. Sammy was able to get Dean inside their room and onto the motel bed before he once again passed out. Sam quickly went outside and grabbed their first aid kit from the trunk of the car and then locked the Impala up. He returned to the motel room and quickly lay down fresh lines of salt for protection before returning to his brother's side.

Now that they were finally back at the room and away from danger, Sammy's adrenaline was starting to diminish. He ran his hands through his hair and grasped it into his fists.

"What do I do now?" he thought as panic tried to settle in once again. Sammy paced around the room for a minute and then picked up the phone to call their dad.

"Please pick up" he pleaded to no avail as he heard his father's voice mail come on. Sammy waited for the voicemail message to end before saying, "I need you daddy, please come back" in a whimpering voice. He then hung up the phone as he tried Pastor Jim's number only to find out that he had left earlier in the day for a two week sabbatical. He tried Bobby and Joshua's numbers only to reach their voice mail also.

"Damn it" Sammy swore as he tossed the phone on the bed and hung his head. He felt tears coming to his eyes . He was all alone with no backup. Dean's life lay on his shoulders and he didn't know if he was good enough to meet the task of taking on that responsibility.

Pulling himself together, Sammy started undressing Dean so he could assess all of his brother's injuries. He quickly removed Dean's shoes and socks, and then pulled his brother's jeans off. Next he removed Dean's jacket and then got the scissors from the first aid kit so he could cut his brother's shirts off. He didn't want to move Dean anymore than was necessary.

Knowing that the bite wound needed to be washed out thoroughly, he grabbed some holy water from their duffle bag and poured it over the wounded area. He watched as steam immediately rose and Dean's back arched off of the bed as he reacted to the severe pain even in his unconscious state.

Tears once again flowed down Sammy's face knowing that he was hurting the one person who meant the world to him. How he wished his father was there to help. Knowing that he had to finish, he continued to flush the bite until no more steam rose from the wound and then he rinsed it with peroxide and covered the area with an antibiotic ointment.

Next, Sammy moved on to the knife wound. He cleaned the wound out and then prepared a needle and thread. The cut was deep enough where it would require stitches to close it up. Sammy's hands were shaking as he tried to thread the needle. His dad had him practicing his stitching technique for a few months now just in case the need ever arose and now Sammy was going to put that practice to real use.

Finally getting the needle threaded, Sammy pushed the needle through Dean's skin as he held the ends of the cut together with his other hand. He pulled the needle and thread through. He felt sick to his stomach as he watched the way it pulled Dean's skin. He repeated the stitching steps until he had applied seven neat stitches in his brother's shoulder, praying that it wouldn't leave too much of a scar. He applied an antibiotic ointment to that area also and then covered it with a sterile gauze pad.

Sammy really hated having to take care of the last wound, the area where Dean's side was pierced by the mirror because he knew he would have to check for any fragments of the mirror that could still be in there. He took two deep breaths and then left them out slowly to help calm his frazzled nerves. He removed the forceps from the first aid kit and soaked them in peroxide. Next he used the forceps to prod in Dean's side feeling around for any pieces of glass as the blood started flowing from the wound once again. He found and removed two pieces of shattered glass carefully so as not to cause any more damage. Lastly, he applied pressure to the bleeding side once again until the flow of blood had stopped. Finally, he was able to stitch up the wound with five neat stitches.

By the time Sammy had taken care of all of Dean's wounds and checked his brother for signs of a concussion, he collapsed on the bed beside Dean totally exhausted and cried himself to sleep from the pain he was suffering in his head and his back.

**TBC **


	5. Chapter 5

**Carnival of Death Ch. 5**

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is late. We had a storm and my internet was down.**

_**Previously: **__By the time Sammy had taken care of all of Dean's wounds and checked his brother for signs of a concussion, he collapsed on the bed beside Dean totally exhausted and cried himself to sleep from the pain he was suffering in his head and his back._

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Sammy awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of Dean moaning. He quickly check his brother's wounds for any signs of infection. Seeing no redness or increased puffiness, Sammy decided to try and rouse Dean.

"Hey Dean, can you hear me?" he asked as he felt his brother's forehead. Dean didn't seem hot to the touch, though he had beads of perspiration shining on his forehead. He shook hi brother to try and wake him up.

The only reaction that came from Dean was another moan as his head rolled over to the side. Sammy knew that Dean had to be in incredible pain but didn't know what to do to stop it. He couldn't get Dean to rouse enough to take some pain pills and their dad had never shown him how to give injections with the morphine he had appropriated the last time one of the boys was in the hospital.

Knowing that he needed to get some pain meds in Dean, Sammy crushed up three Tylenol into powder form and put it into a glass and added some water. He then walked over to Dean and picked his brother's head up and held it firmly with his hand. He then put the glass to his brothers lips with his other hand and said "I need you to try and swallow this for me Dean, it will help the pain" he said as he tipped the glass to his brother's mouth.

In his haze of pain, Dean could distantly hear the words that Sammy was saying. He felt it as Sammy put the glass to his lips and opened his mouth slightly. He swallowed as best he could while Sammy slowly poured the liquid into his mouth. He tasted the gritty substance in the water and figured that his little brother must have crushed some pain pills to help lessen the pain. When he had drunk all he could in his weakened state, he turned his head away from the glass and slipped into blissful unconsciousness once again.

As Sammy took the glass over to the sink and washed it out, he could feel the wound in his own back hurting more than ever. He knew it wasn't good to leave them unattended, but there was no way he could take care of them on his own. He whimpered slightly at the pull of skin as he arched his back trying to relieve some of the sting. And if that wasn't bad enough, he heard the roar of thunder in the distance signaling an oncoming storm. "Just freaking great" he thought knowing that things were already bad enough.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

John and Caleb had finally taken out the pack of demon dogs they had been tracking for over a week now. It had been a long and tiring hunt with each hunter coming out of it with scrapes and bruises. Caleb had also been bitten as well and was now headed off to the local hospital to get the wound checked out and cleaned more thoroughly. Chances were that he was going to have to get a rabies shot also since he was bitten by a wild dog. John didn't envy him the series of shots he would have to take over the course of a week.

Feeling totally exhausted, John decided to stop at the local motel before heading back to Wisconsin and his boys. He pulled into the local Days Inn and got a room. He quickly stripped and took a hot shower which helped to relieve his aching muscles. Damn that bed was going to feel like heaven tonight since he and Caleb had been sleeping in the woods for the past five days.

As he dressed in clean boxers to get ready for bed, John took his cell phone out of the pocket of the jeans that he had dropped onto the floor before showering. He was about to put it on the dresser and climb into the bed when he saw the words _one new message _displayed. "Damn, my phone must have been out of service in the woods" he thought as it had never rang during the hunt. He flipped open his phone to listen to the message. All signs of exhaustion suddenly fled as John heard the words left by Sammy. **"**_**I need you daddy, please come back" **_his son had whimpered into the receiver.

Suddenly terrified, John started packing hid duffle no longer feeling the need for sleep. He quickly dialed Dean's number as he raced out to his truck. He was dismayed as an automated voice came over the phone and said "We're sorry, the party you are trying to reach is unavailable at this time. Please try again later."

"Son of a bitch" John swore as he threw his phone across the seat. He needed to get to his boys and he needed to get there now. He had no idea what had happened, but from the sounds of terror in Sammy's voice it had to have been pretty bad.

John reached over and picked up his phone trying the number once more, but to no avail. He then called Bobby and was dismayed to hear his voicemail message. He waited for the message to end and said "Call me back damn it as soon as you get this message." John pushed the gas pedal harder as he sped down the highway trying desperately to get back to his sons.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Sammy lay awake in bed shaking with his head cradled to his knees as he heard the thunder booming outside. He really hated storms and wished their dad would come walking through the door. He gasped audibly as a sharp crack of thunder reverberated throughout the room and the lights suddenly went out from an electrical transformer being struck by lightning.

Suddenly feeling very alone, Sammy scooted off his bed and shuffled across the floor until he felt their duffle bags by his feet. He bent down and rummaged around until he was able to find a flashlight and quickly flicked it on. He shuddered as shadows danced across the room from the branches outside the room blowing in the wind. He quickly walked back over to Dean's bed and scooted in as closely as he could taking a little comfort in being near his brother.

As the storm continued to rage on for hours, Sammy became more nervous. He decided to focus his attention on Dean to get his mind off the storm. He climbed off of the bed and walked into the small motel bathroom to get a clean washcloth. He held the washcloth under the cool running water from the sink and then rinsed it out. Walking back out to his brother, he wiped his face down hoping that it would provide some relief to his slumbering brother.

Afterwards, Sammy walked over to the kitchenette area and got a bowl. He returned to the small bathroom and filled it with warm water. He returned to Dean's bedside carrying the bowl and a bar of soap. He gave his brother a sponge bath knowing that Dean would feel better when he woke up if he wasn't gritty and dirty from the fight with the rakshasa.

When Sammy finished sponge bathing Dean, he was happy to notice that the thunder now rumbled off in the distance meaning that the storm was moving away. He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked through the blinds to see the first signs of the sun rising on the horizon.

"Maybe dad will be here soon" he whispered to Dean as he walked over to fix himself a bowl of Lucky charms. He was beginning to feel a little weak and figured it was because his stomach was feeling kind of empty. He sat at the table eating his cereal as he watched his brother sleeping.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

John felt a slight bit of relief as he saw the Welcome to Wisconsin sign. He would be back with his boys in a few hours. He had tried a few times throughout the night to contact his boys but something was wrong with the line. As he drove, he heard his phone ringing and prayed that it was his boys. He flipped open his phone to see that it was Bobby.

"What the hell is so important that you left me a curt message over the phone?" Bobby snapped after he heard John say hello. He wasn't happy with the way Winchester had basically ordered him to call back. Hell, he had even been tempted to ignore the message, but felt it in his gut that something was wrong.

"How close are you to Beckville, Wisconsin?" John asked ignoring the anger in Bobby's voice. "Something's wrong with the boys and I can't get a hold of them.

"Shit John, I'm over half a days drive from there, it will be at least six hours before I can get there" Bobby stated in agitation. He loved those boys and the thought of them being hurt and alone right now caused a deep aching sensation in his heart.

"I'm closer than you are then. I'll be there in about an hour. I'll call you as soon as I know something" John said as he flipped the phone shut without saying goodbye. He stomped on the gas pedal determined to cut that time in half.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Sammy was cleaning up the dishes from breakfast when he heard Dean mumbling incoherently. He walked over and sat beside his brother. "I'm here Dean" he said as placed his hand on his brother's cheek.

"S'mmy lo…out, can't st'p…" Deam mumbled as his head began to toss back and forth. Dean was visibly shaking from whatever he was dreaming and it was obviously terrifying him.

"Dean come on man, wake up" Sammy pleaded trying to draw Dean out of the dream. Sammy was really starting to feel bad himself and was becoming lightheaded. He had to focus hard as he tried to get his brother to rouse. "Damn it Dean, open your eyes" he said forcefully hoping that the urgent tone would snap Dean out of it, but Dean continued to mumble incoherently.

Sammy knew he was pushing himself past the point of endurance taking care of his brother when he felt so bad himself. His back hurt like hell and he could feel the heat that was starting to emanate off of it. He was visibly shaking himself now as his strength was waning and he knew he would soon pass out.

Suddenly. To his immense relief, Sammy heard the sounds of his dad's truck pulling up outside their room. 'Thank God" he said aloud as he forced himself to a standing position and walked over to unlock the door. He pulled the door open to see his father standing there with an anxious look on his face.

"Daddy" he said as his eyes rolled back in his head and he started slumping to the floor in unconsciousness.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Carnival of Death Ch. 6**

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is so late. I am having major problems with my internet provider. **

John had just arrived back at the motel where his sons were presently staying. He felt a tightness in his heart and a lump in his throat wondering what he would find when he walked into the room. He quickly jogged over to the door, key in hand. As he was getting ready to unlock the door, he watched as it suddenly swung inward to reveal his youngest son.

"Daddy" he heard his youngest say as he watched Sammy's eyes roll up into his head and his body start slumping to the floor. He reacted quickly on instinct and reached out to catch Sammy in his arms before his baby could complete his trip towards the floor. As he picked Sammy up to carry him inside, he could feel the heat that was radiating through his shirt.

"Damn it son, you're burning up" he stated as he deposited his baby boy on the bed and walked quickly to the bathroom. He set the nozzles on the bathtub to fill it with lukewarm to cool water. He knew he had to bring the kid's fever down and he had to do it quickly.

Upon re-entering the room, he looked over to see Dean who was also bathed in sweat and lying under the blankets. What the freaking hell happened to you boys?" he asked aloud knowing that neither of his children had heard him. He walked over to Sammy's bed and stripped him completely knowing how embarrassed Sammy was going to be if he woke up. He blanched as he saw the cuts and welts that adorned Sammy's back, some of which were obviously infected. He picked Sammy up and cradled him in his arms as he gently carried him into the bathroom to deposit him into the rapidly filling bathtub.

Sammy's eyes shot open as he yelled out from the intense pain his body felt from the rapid change in temperature due to the cool water. He started shivering immediately as his body struggled to adjust to the cool water. Sammy tried to climb out of the tub, but was held immobile by his father's hands.

"No Sammy, you have to stay in there until your temperature comes down" John said as he held him in the water, knowing how frigid it must have felt to his youngest in his fevered state.

"N-no, please d-daddy, it's t-too c-cold" Sammy pleaded as his full body shivered severely at the drastic cold he was experiencing. He began to cry as he struggled once more to get out of the tub. His body felt like it was being stabbed all over by needles frozen in ice, and he felt helpless to stop it from happening.

Back inside the room, Dean heard his brother crying out in pain and it roused him from the brink of unconsciousness. He agonizingly climbed out of his bed and struggled to walk the few steps to the bathroom. His mind was still hazy from the pain that he was suffering as he saw a man holding Sammy inside the tub while the kid was shrieking in pain, not recognizing that man as their father. Dean automatically went into protective mode and threw himself on the man's back as he hollered "Get the hell away from my brother." He then put his hands around the man's throat and began to squeeze with what little strength he had left not caring about the pain it was inflicting on his own body.

John was surprised as he was tackled from behind by his oldest son. "Dean, it's me" he said as he pulled at his son's hands to keep them from strangling his throat. Luckily for him, Dean was in a very weakened state and he was able to easily dislodge his son's hands.

Dean continued to struggle, not yet recognizing his father. John grasped Dean's hands as he held them firmly in his own and said "Stand down soldier" in an authoritative voice.

Dean instantly stopped struggling as he finally recognized the man before him. "Dad" he said as he relaxed completely and looked over towards his baby brother.

"Oh God, what's wrong with Sammy?" he asked as he saw how pale his little brother looked and how hard he was shaking.

"He's got a high fever Dean, I have to get it down" John stated as he used a washcloth to start wiping down Sammy's shivering body. As he did so, he looked over Dean and saw the wounds that were covering his oldest son's torso.

"What the hell happened Dean?" he asked trying to find out just what had happened to put both of his sons in such bad shape while he was gone, but before Dean could answer, they heard a pounding at the motel room door.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNS**

John instructed Dean to support a very weak Sammy in the bathtub while he went to find out who was at the door. As he opened the door, he was relieved to see Bobby standing there with a look of worry on his face.

"Damn, I'm glad to see you" John said to his hunter friend with a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Bobby asked as he followed John into the room.

"That's what I was about to find out" John answered as he walked back into the bathroom with Bobby following him. Bobby was surprised to see Sammy sitting in the bathtub shivering and that Dean looked even worse as he grimaced from the pain of supporting his baby brother. John took over Dean's position and watched as Dean slumped to the wall.

"Alright Dean, time to spill soldier, just tell me what the hell happened to you and your brother to leave you in the shape that I am seeing now" John said with a questioning tone to his voice. He was careful not to allow any anger to be heard in his voice.

Dean looked at his dad with tear filled eyes. "It's all my fault dad. Sammy's sick because of me" he stated with a trembling lower lip.

John hated the way that Dean always took the responsibility on himself every time that Sammy got hurt, even when it wasn't his fault. He tried to ease Dean's pain by saying "Dean, I know you wouldn't have let Sammy get hurt if you could 

have kept it from happening. I can see that you're in pretty bad shape yourself too son, so tell me exactly what happened."

"Well, we were watching television" Dean said as he started to tell his dad the whole story. "A news report came on talking about a few deaths that had occurred at a carnival that was here in town"

John immediately blanched as he figured out what had happened just from the little bit of information Dean had given him. "Shit Dean, you two went out on a hunt together by yourselves didn't you, knowing that I damn well had told you to stay in this room until I had got back."

"I-I'm sorry dad" Dean said as he lowered his eyes in shame for not following his dad's orders. It hurt to hear the anger and disappointment in his father's voice.

John was crestfallen as he saw the look of hurt in Dean's eyes before he lowered his gaze. Dean was already hurting enough without him placing blame on the kid. "No, I'm sorry son. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. Now tell me what happened when you went to the carnival to check things out."

Dean told John and Bobby everything that had happened from the moment they started the hunt until it had ended. He told them about the fight with the rakshasa and how they had eventually killed it, but not before being hurt themselves. Later, John's eyes grew huge as Dean explained how he had been too injured to drive which forced Sammy to be the one who had to drive them back to the motel room.

John felt immense pride in his youngest knowing how terrified the kid must have been since he had only driven a few times previously. But at the same time, it also terrified John to know that he could have lost both his sons if Sammy hadn't got them back to safety.

John was about to question Dean further, but saw the look of exhaustion and pain that was on his face.

"Bobby, can you help Dean back into the room and take a look at his injuries while I finish up here with Sammy?" John asked as he pulled the plug to drain the water out of the tub.

"You don't even have to ask" Bobby stated as he reached down to help Dean up. He put his arm around Dean's waist and slowly led him towards the bed and helped him to lie down. Dean was grateful for the help since he knew he probably couldn't have made it on his own.

"Dean, I'm going to change your bandages so I can get a close look at your wounds" Bobby said as began to gently ease the bandage off of Dean's shoulder. He used his fingers to prod the skin around the wound. "These stitches look pretty good" he said as he saw Dean wince in pain from his prodding.

Bobby then moved his hands down to check the wound in Dean's side. As he took off the bandage, he noticed that the area around the stitches was beginning to become inflamed. "This doesn't look good" he said as he felt the skin around the stitches. When he prodded the area a little too hard, Dean shot up in pain and gasped "Son of a bitch, don't do that again Bobby" as he tried to regain control of his breathing.

Bobby helped Dean to lie back down and then rubbed his hand along his hairy chin. He knew that infection was beginning to take hold and that they were going to have to reopen the wound and take care of it before the infection could really take hold forcing a trip to the hospital.

Meanwhile, John helped Sammy to stand up so he could dry him off before helping him out of the tub. As he stood, Sammy noticed that he was fully naked and blushed a deep, crimson red at being completely undressed in front of his father.

Seeing the look of embarrassment on Sammy's face, John said "There's no reason to be ashamed son. This isn't the first time I've seen you naked you know. Who do you think changed your diaper and gave you baths until Dean took over that responsibility when you were little."

John quickly wrapped a towel around Sammy after getting him dry and carried him into the room as Sammy protested that he could walk himself. John laid him down gently on his stomach so that he could have take a closer look at the wounds on Sammy's back.

John knew that he was going to have to clean the wounds out and that it was going to be pretty painful for his baby boy unless he used the last of the morphine that they had left. "Sammy, I'm going to have to sterilize these wounds on your back" he said as he got the peroxide and the morphine out of the first aid kit. He then warned Sammy that he was going to give him an injection in his hip as pulled the towel down just a little and swabbed a small area before injecting the needle.

Sammy hissed as he felt the needle entering his skin, but then relaxed only a few moments later as the morphine started taking hold. Sammy entered a drug induced sleep as John cleaned and sterilized the infected wounds on his back. After he finished, John covered the wounds on Sammy's back and then pulled a blanket over his snoring son before focusing his attention on helping Bobby take care of Dean.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Carnival of Death Ch. 7**

As soon as John had taken care of Sammy's medical needs and had checked to make sure his fever had dropped, he focused his attention on Dean. He had heard his oldest yell out in pain when he was in the bathroom cooling down Sammy. "How's he doing Bobby?" John asked knowing that Bobby had already thoroughly checked over his oldest boy.

"The wound in his side is going to need tending The area around the stitches is puffy and red and when I prodded it, the kid shot up in pain. Other than that, Dean seems to be doing pretty good. I haven't had a chance yet to check for concussion." Bobby stated in answer to John's question.

"Shit, I hadn't thought to check Sammy either. We'll have to wake him up in a couple of hours just in case, until then, let's get to work on Dean" said John as he walked over to get a bottle of whiskey out of his duffle.

After getting the whiskey, John walked over to sit on Dean's bed and gently lifted his son so that Dean was propped against his chest. "Dean, I need you to drink some of this for me son" he said as he tilted the whiskey bottle to Dean's lips.

Dean swallowed the liquid his dad was offering and immediately felt a burning sensation in his throat as the whiskey slid down. When John tried to get him to take another sip, Dean turned his head away. "No, don't want anymore" Dean said as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry son, but you need to drink. We don't have any morphine left and it's going to hurt like hell when I take care of that wound in your side, so drink up. It will help dull the pain."

John once again tipped the bottle to Dean's lips as Dean swallowed the bitter liquid until John was satisfied that he had had enough. He waited about an hour for the liquor to take effect. As he saw Dean's eyes glazing over, he decided it was time to administer some first aid.

"Bobby, I'm going to need you to hold Dean still when I start prodding the hole in his side." John said as he pulled his black leather wallet out from his pocket. He then told Dean to open his mouth and placed the wallet between his teeth and said "Bite down on it Dean if the pain get's too bad" Bobby took his position beside John and braced Dean as John began to snip the stitches that Sammy had sewn. After the wound was reopened, John took the sterilized tweezers and poked them into the once again bleeding wound and moved them around searching for any foreign objects.

As his dad began to move the tweezers around, Dean immediately bit down on the wallet as sweat beaded on his forehead and rolled down his cheek. He swallowed back a scream and tried to arch his back, but was held firmly in place by Bobby. The pain became so intense that Dean squeezed his eyes shut as tears began rolling down his face, as he was unable to hold them back.

"Oh God, it hurt's" he mumbled through the wallet as his dad continued his search. John hated putting his son through so much pain, but knew he had to finish what he had started. As Dean began to tremble, John found what he had been looking for. A very thin sliver of the broken mirror had lodged itself deep within the skin. John was surprised that he was able to find it at all. As John carefully removed the sliver, Dean finally succumbed to his pain and mercifully passed out.

John quickly irrigated the wound with holy water and then peroxide, as Bobby threaded a needle. "You've been through a lot John, why don't you let me take care of the stitching" Bobby said when he noticed his friend's hands had begun to tremble.

"Thanks Bobby" John said as he went to the bathroom to wash his hand. John stood by the sink and turned on the tap. He splashed cold water on his face as he tried to get his hands to stop trembling. All that he could think about was how close he had come to losing his boys tonight. As his thoughts centered on what could have happened, John felt the bile starting to rise in his throat. He fell to his knees in front of the toilet and threw up violently until nothing was left for his body to expel.

As Bobby was stitching Dean up, he could hear the events going on in the bathroom. He winced as he heard how violently John was heaving. He couldn't blame John for getting physically sick after everything he had been through tonight, finding out how badly his boys had been injured and that they could have been killed.

Bobby had just finished putting in the last stitches as John emerged from the bathroom. He noticed that John's face was considerably paler than when he had went into the bathroom and said, "John, why don't you get some sleep man. You're not looking too good yourself. I'll stay up and keep an eye on the boys for ya."

John was just about to decline Bobby's offer, when Bobby said "No arguments John, these boys are going to need you refreshed when the wake up. Go to sleep, that's an order"

John smiled and replied "Yes Sir" with a salute as he trudged over to couch and made himself as comfortable as possible. He suddenly felt bone weary and relished the idea of closing his eyes for an hour or two.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

Bobby sat on a chair between the boys reading as he watched over the boys and a snoring John. He was glad to see that all three Winchesters were getting some desperately needed sleep. As he looked down at the newspaper once again, he heard a slight moan coming from Sammy's bed. He stood up to check on the youngest Winchester. He placed his palm against Sammy's forehead and frowned. _"Damn, the fever's returned" _he thought as he walked to the bathroom to get a cool washcloth.

Bobby placed the washcloth on Sammy's forehead and then walked over to the sink to get a glass of water. He took two Tylenols from the first aid kit and sat on Sammy's bed.

"Sammy, I need ya to wake up for me son" he said as he gently shook Sammy's shoulders. As Sammy opened bleary eyes to look at him, Bobby said "I need you to take these pills sport, your fever is climbing again." Sammy opened his mouth and took the medication and then washed it down with the offered water. He then snuggled back under the cover as he whispered "Thanks Bobby" before slipping back into a drug induced sleep once again.

As Bobby sat down in his chair to resume reading again, he heard John ask "Sammy okay?"

"I thought you were asleep" Bobby said as he looked over to see John sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"I was until I heard Sammy groaning. Is his fever going back up?" John asked as he walked over to check on his baby boy.

"Yeah, but I gave him some Tylenol and put a cool washcloth on his head. I think he'll be okay until morning now. Why don't you go back to sleep."

"Nah, I'm good" replied John as he ran his hands through his disheveled hair. "I'll stay up with the boys now Bobby. Go ahead and get some sleep yourself."

Bobby took over John's position on the couch and was asleep within five minutes as John checked on both of his sons to make sure they were both doing okay.

**SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN**

As morning broke the next day, John was relieve to see that both of his boys were doing better. While Sammy's fever was not yet gone, it had remained relatively low over the past four hours. When he changed the bandages on his back, he was happy to see that a lot of the redness had went away and that most of the cuts and scratches were starting to scab over.

Things were looking better with Dean also as the puffiness and the inflamed skin in his side had lessened considerably, though he knew Dean would wake up with a major hangover as a result of the whisky he had consumed. John decided to allow his boys to sleep a little longer while he took a hot shower.

Upon returning from the shower, he found a note from Bobby saying that he had left to get breakfast and would return in approximately thirty minutes. John decided it was time to wake his boys up for a firm discussion about following orders while he was away on a hunt.

John patted both of his boys on the leg firmly and said "Dean, Sammy, it's time to get up boys. We need to talk."

Dean winced as he pushed himself up, not only because of the pain in his head and his side, but because he knew he was in for a lecture from the tone of his dad's voice. He watched as Sammy sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes while yawning.

Knowing that he had to get the conversation started, John looked at his sons and said "Boys, I want to know why you did something that was so obviously dangerous when you KNEW I had left strict orders for you to stay in the motel. I'm disappointed in both of you, especially you Dean. You're older and you should have known better than to take Sammy out on a hunt with no backup. What the hell was going through your mind boy?"

Dean's face lowered in shame as he said, "M'Sorry dad. I know I should have waited until you got home or called Pastor Jim to tell him about the hunt instead of tackling it with Sammy. I just didn't stop to think…"

"That's right, you didn't think" John said interrupting Dean. "How would you have felt if Sammy had been killed because you chose to defy my orders? How do you think I would have felt coming back to find that either of my sons had been killed? And don't thin k you're innocent of any blame here Sammy" John said as he turned to focus on his youngest. "I know I've told you to follow Dean's instructions while I'm gone, but you should have at least tried to call me or Jim to let us know what you boys were planning to do." John ranted at his sons for twenty minutes about dangers of hunting without at least letting others know what was going on.

John finished his lecture by saying, " I don't EVER want to come back to find you that you boys have went on a hunt by yourselves again without somebody backing you up. And if you boys EVER disobey my orders so blatantly again, I can promise you that you'll both be spending some time over my knee with the belt. I don't care how old you are. Do you understand me?"

"Yes Sir" both boys replied in unison knowing their father had meant every word he said.

"Good, you're both grounded for the next month. No television and you'll both be cleaning weapons daily until I say different, am I making myself clear?" John asked

"Yes Sir, perfectly clear" Dean stated as he groaned knowing he was in for a very long month.

**THE END **This just seemed like the perfect place to end the story since the boys are on the mend once again. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Dana, I hope it met up to your expectations at least a little.


End file.
